A Time for Change
by LabraBell
Summary: Where do you see yourself in twenty years? It's not a question that Kakashi had found himself asking. But when a hooded man appears, warning of terrible events yet to come… well, things like that had a tendency to make you think. - Time travel. Young Kaka-centric. No pairings... okay maybe a little pairing. I can't help it, this fluff writes itself!
1. A Time for Revelations

**So when I first started writing this fic I fully intended to write one chapter and put it up for adoption or cowriting. But as I've worked on it I now know exactly how I want to write this fic, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to keep at this until I complete it. **

**In this fic, team Minato is also known as team 7. It fits with the theme a little better in my opinion, and I just wanted to clear this up now in case anyone is confused by my use of the [name later on. **

Kakashi suppressed a sigh as the room began to fill. As usual, the shinobi council took far too long to assemble, as if an emergency summons meant so little to them. He turned to the red-haired woman beside him.

"Remind me why I need to be here?" He muttered, though he already knew the answer.

"For the same reason I'm here, Kashi-chan." She replied. The use of that infernal nickname only served to deepen his hidden scowl. "We're the last of our clans, you and me. That makes us heads, so we have to do our duty."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, turning slightly away so that the woman wouldn't see. It wouldn't do to annoy Kushina Uzumaki, after all.

All around the room the assembling clan heads muttered and chatted. A lot of glances were cast towards the side where the civilian council usually sat, which today was strangely empty. To the untrained eye it would seem as though the shinobi were relaxed and comfortable, but Kakashi could see otherwise. The tension in their shoulders, the way their eyes darted from person to person. Even the way their hands often strayed towards where their weapons reside – or at least where they _would _reside.

They were in the middle of a war, after all. Weapons were strictly banned in this particular chamber.

The chattering began to quieten down as a figure was led into the room by two ANBU and seated in the centre of the room. They were dressed in simple grey slacks, the likes of which were often given to prisoners, and a black fabric hood had been placed over their head, though eye holes had been cut into it – not wide enough that the person's identity could be determined, but not so narrow that they would impede their vision.

'_No chains.' _The jounin mused. '_Previously a prisoner, perhaps? Unless… their identity is being hidden.'_

As far as Kakashi could see, there were seals placed on either of the person's wrists – no doubt created by his sensei. Judging by their fluctuating and unrecognisable chakra levels, the seals were there to alter their signature and provide a further mask for this person's identity.

No doubt there would be a logical explanation as to the reason for their summons, and by proxy the reason for this person's appearance.

As If responding to Kakashi's thoughts, the third hokage cleared his throat, effectively silencing the few murmurs that had remained.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here today." Hiruzen began, casting his eyes around the room. As he spoke, he began to walk towards the figure in the centre of the room. "You're probably also wondering who this is, and why he is here."

Kakashi spared a glance towards the visitor, making note of the way the hokage referred to him as male. As he did, he caught sight of the way they shared a glance; the unknown man nodding in return.

"My name… well, I can't tell you that." He began, his voice deep and gravelly and decidedly male in a way that could only mean it was altered by chakra. "I guess you can call me… Kamen. As you can see, I have been disguised to protect my identity. This is as much for the good of Konoha as it is for me."

This admission set in motion a wave of muttering, and the man was forced to pause for several seconds until it died down. Eventually he began to pace around the podium he'd been sitting on, staring at each clan head in turn as he did so.

"Twenty years from now…" He continued, glancing around once more. "There will only be a single person seated in this room who'll still be alive."

The statement left only a stony silence in its wake as the assembled clan heads absorbed the information. A collective question lingered at the forefront of Kakashi's thoughts, the answer to which he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

'_Who survives?'_

It felt as though the man was staring at him, but he couldn't be sure of that given the hood that covered his face.

"In twenty years' time, this world you see before you will be a mere memory. An opponent you long thought lost to the world will come back and destroy everything you hold close to you. In fact, three of you here will lose your lives within the next few short years."

The gravity of the situation seemed to fall heavier with every word. To hear that you're most likely going to die soon served as a far more _real _reminder that death stands just around the corner for some.

Hiruzen began to speak once more, taking over from the man who'd fallen silent.

"When I first spoke with Kamen, I obviously struggled to believe that what he was telling me was truthful. I requested that Inoichi-san here could come and link my mind with his, so that I may replay his memories as if they were my own." He stated calmly. "What I saw… was not good, to say the least. But I can assure you this with absolute certainty: Kamen was able to crack the technique to travelling through time, and brought himself back to this point in order to warn us of the future."

"What is entailed within the future?" The questioner was clearly from the Aburame clan, though Kakashi didn't know him by name.

"The future is bleak, and that's all you need to know." The man interjected before the hokage could answer. "But just because the future is bleak, doesn't mean that we can't change our actions to improve what has not yet been written, ya know. You won't be aware of it, but in the coming years I am going to be working to make a difference."

"If you don't intend for us to know about what you're doing, then why did you choose to speak to us today?" This came from Shikaku Nara. Though Kakashi didn't know him personally, he doubted that there was anyone in Konoha who didn't at least know the man's name. Being advisor to the hokage did that for you.

"To put it plain and simple, to inspire you to think about your actions." The man replied simply. "Some of you are making big decisions right now. Maybe one of you is planning on talking to the grave of a close friend of yours. Or perhaps you're feeling like you're just not powerful enough. I hope that this meeting serves to make you understand that your actions all have reactions, and there are always people around to hear what you're saying."

He turned away for a moment, and the jounin could see that his body language had suddenly become very sullen.

"A close friend of mine was forced to watch as his whole family was torn apart in front of him, in my time. We later found out that that incident was perfectly avoidable."

His fist clenched tightly for a moment.

"Somebody else was forced to live a life of poverty and hatred, all because of an incident that was instigated by a person who once hailed Konoha as their home."

The man's voice seemed to grow louder as he spoke, carefully bottled emotions pouring out in this one moment.

"I watched as three people my age were forced to fight against the man they loved as much as a father. Then I watched as two of them were forced to listen as their actual fathers realised that there was a devastating attack headed right for them."

He paused for a moment, one hand lifting as if to smooth his hair back but only settling uselessly on top of the hood he wore.

"Do you know how heart-breaking that is? To listen to them crying their fathers' names? To watch as the men who raised them were crushed right before their very eyes?"

"Kamen, perhaps you'd better-" Hiruzen tried to calm him, but to no avail.

"And you know, what hurt perhaps even more than that… was the fact that the third father, the one who'd worked in a team with those other two fathers, fell into a deep depression. Survivors guilt, they called it. He wished that he could have been there to die beside his closest friends."

The hokage placed a steady hand on the man's shoulder as his voice cracked, and he looked up. A small nod, as if to say _"I'm calm", _and then he continued.

"The examples I've just given relate to people in this room, or otherwise the offspring they are yet to have. Every single one of them could have been prevented. So now I stand before you, and I stress the importance of this meeting. _Think about your actions." _

He sighed in what could have been tiredness, or perhaps relief at finishing his speech, and sat heavily back down on the chair he'd been offered.

"What happens now?" Kakashi asked, seemingly voicing what was on everyone's mind. "Will Kamen be given free reign to do as he pleases?"

The hokage's brow began to furrow slightly.

"I did not believe him at first." He admitted. "Eventually I brought Inoichi in to perform a simple mind-technique, in which Kamen's memories were directly presented to me as if they were my own. It did not take long for me to understand, and though I did not pry too deeply I can say that I'd trust this man with my life."

"But how can you trust him? Could he not have placed a genjutsu on you?"

"While possible, that is not the case. Kamen has proven to me that he is exactly who he says he is, and he has sworn to act only for the good of this village. So, as I'm sure you'll know, this is an S-ranked secret, and I am placing a law against speaking of the man you have met today. Failure to comply with this law will garner the death penalty."

Nobody dared to offer a response to this, so the man continued.

"Now if there are no other questions, I declare this meeting adjourned." He ended with a flourish. The same two ANBU took the hooded man out of the room before anyone could follow him, and eventually the clan heads began to file out. The jounin was following behind Kushina when a hand was placed at his back. "Kakashi, Minato, would you mind following me to my office?"

_**/\/\/\/ **_

"_Kamen asked me to deliver you a message." Hiruzen stated once they were seated in his office. Presumably Sensei had already been briefed on this matter, as he seemed entirely unsurprised by the revelation and instead simply stared at him. _

"_A message? Why me?"_

_There was something about the graveness in Minato's eyes that deeply unsettled the young jounin._

"_This will be a lot to take in, so bear with me here." The blond replied. "Kakashi… in the future, somebody who was once a shinobi of Konoha will join a group of S-ranked missing-nin, and together with them he will lay waste to the world as we know it." _

"_Who is it?" He asked, though he wasn't really sure he wanted to know the answer. _

"_Obito Uchiha." _

A year had passed since that meeting, but Kakashi's memory of the day had not faded at all. Even now, he still couldn't quite comprehend the fact that his deadbeat idiot of a teammate had not only survived being crushed, but had the capacity to essentially destroy the world.

It was… eye opening, that was for sure.

He and Rin were currently waiting in a small training field, having been told to meet there by their sensei. The third member of their team, Aki, and Minato had not yet arrived.

Aki had been added to team seven about a week after the meeting with the strange time traveller had taken place. He was rather odd in appearance, with long, spiky dark brown hair which fell down over his silver eyes, and numerous bandages wrapped around his face similarly to how Kakashi himself wore his mask. What had surprised him the most was the fact that this boy was supposed to be roughly his age, and yet he stood almost as tall as Minato.

_**/\/\/\/**_

[Flashback: Meeting Aki]

"Kakashi, Rin, this is Akihide." Minato smiled as he introduced the boy. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

He nodded, clearing his throat… and speaking in a voice that was far higher pitched than Kakashi had expected.

"My name is Akihide Kaeto, but you can call me Aki." He stated seriously. "I'm a frontline fighter but I specialise in stealth and evasion. I have no family, and I... I lost both of my teammates to a particularly bloodthirsty genin during the chuunin exams in which I earned my rank. I want to become powerful enough to join the ANBU in the future."

Rin's cautious eyes had softened as he introduced himself, and by the time he'd finished she had stepped forward to envelop him in a hug.

"We lost our teammate recently, too." She told him. Kakashi had to bite his lip as the urge to correct her welled up inside of him. "So we can work together while we heal, okay?"

Aki let out a small hidden smile, but didn't respond.

"You look like that other guy." Kakashi remarked suddenly. "The one that's practically attached to his friend. Kotetsu?"

"Oh jeez, don't get me started with that guy." Aki exclaimed. "His friend - what was his name? Izumo? Well he noticed the similarities right away. Every time he sees me he keeps calling me "Pineapple-face", since he keeps calling Kotetsu the same."

Rin giggled at that. Kakashi knew of those guys, and even though they'd been a year behind him in the academy - which really didn't mean much considering how early he'd graduated - he'd still heard of their habits of making fun of people.

"So, um... would you like to tell me about yourselves?" Aki asked. He seemed nervous for some reason, but the jounin put it off as him being unsure about having a new teammate so soon after losing his own team. Ironic, really - he was feeling the same way himself.

"My name is Rin Nohara!" The girl stated happily. "I like training, and taking missions with my team! In the future I want to be a talented iryo-nin, just like Tsunade!"

"Kakashi Hatake. There are things I like, and things I hate. I really don't feel like telling you all about myself though, I mean I don't really know you. As for the future... I don't know."

The boy seemed to grin behind his bandages, muttering something under his breath.

"Sounds like last time."

"I didn't quite catch that." The jounin frowned, but Aki just shook his head.

"nothing, nothing. So, um... sensei? What should we do?"

The blond looked between his students appraisingly.

"Well, since we're going to be working together, I think it's best we start by getting to know one another's fighting styles, don't you?" He stated. "Kakashi and Aki, let's have you two spar. Rin and I will be sending projectiles towards you while you fight, so remember to keep an eye out!"

A spar? He supposed he should have expected that, given that they were new to one another, but honestly this guy didn't seem all that strong.

"Alright new guy, let's fight." He muttered. "What are the rules?"

"Obviously don't try to kill each other." Minato replied. "Hmm, let's see... because I want to see your compatibility, I'll call out for you to switch styles as you fight. You'll start with taijutsu."

Fair enough. Kakashi walked into the middle of the field, hands raised in a defensive, if casual, stance. He clearly wasn't taking this fight seriously, so Aki decided to mirror his expression.

His stance seemed to be a combination of the academy standard taijutsu forms and what seemed to be a street-brawler's form. It really wasn't all that impressive.

"Ready!"

The pair formed a seal of confrontation, listening for their sensei's call. The silence grew almost deafening as Minato waited, drawing out the moment as if deliberately building up the tension.

"Go!"

Aki immediately rushed forward in a frontal attack, throwing a right hook that Kakashi easily dodged. While the boy was relatively fast, his fighting style was sloppy and unguarded. Even without the aid of his new sharingan, tracking the boy's movements was child's play compared to some of the opponents he'd fought over the years.

As he dodged the first punch, Aki tried to catch him off-guard with a sweep of his right leg. But the movement had left him in an awkward position, and it took little effort for the jounin to fall into a backflip, his foot narrowly missing his opponent's face as he kicked out.

They separated once more, breathing slightly uneven after that spurt of energy. Kakashi smirked behind his mask, relishing in the fact that Aki hadn't been able to land a hit on him. But his smirk fell almost as quickly as it arrived as his opponent shifted his weight, somehow falling into a stance that was almost identical to his previous one and yet still completely different.

There had been a multitude of openings in his original stance, but somehow in shifting his weight he had somehow been able to cover most of them. A much less jovial look graced the boy's eyes now.

So Aki was getting serious, huh?

Kakashi decided to go on the offensive this time around, launching himself forward in an attack very similar to Aki's own one. But instead of going for a frontal punch as his opponent had, he dashed to the left and caught a Kunai that Rin had aimed at him. The jounin flicked the kunai at Aki's left shoulder with a flourish, causing him to dodge to the right to avoid it. That was exactly what Kakashi had planned, however, as he'd readied a punch that collided perfectly with the boy's jaw.

He watched as Aki's head snapped back, the rest of his body following a moment later. To his defence he'd been able to settle into a smooth backwards roll, landing in an animalistic crouch, but that didn't take from the fact that he'd been able to land the first punch.

and Aki was _pissed._

Kakashi caught sight of Minato on the sidelines, frowning at the newest addition to their team. It would seem that he wasn't alone in thinking that there was more to this new guy than meets the eye, and honestly he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Several shuriken courtesy of Minato and Rin sailed towards the pair, pulling Kakashi from his thoughts. He wouldn't have any time to think about this right now, so he pushed it to the back of his mind and prepared himself for another attack.

Before he could move though, he spotted a wooden object headed his way and caught it just in time. Aki, however, completely missed the object, and it bounced rather painfully off the back of his head.

Kakashi paid no attention to Rin's fervent apologies, nor to the way Aki was frowning at him as if _he _was to blame for the flying weapon – and indeed it was; Kakashi now held a simple bokken in his hands. But his mind was affixed on the boy in front of him, who was now running his hand through his hair.

"Aki, if you're alright to continue, could you please grab your bokken and face Kakashi?" Minato stated pointedly. Perhaps he noticed the jounin's restlessness.

"Ah, sensei, I don't know how to wield one of these." He replied sheepishly. "I guess I never bothered to learn."

Kakashi rolled his eyes but offered no advice as Minato simply told the boy to have a go at it. He obliged, though even just in his stance it was clear that he had very little experience fighting with a blade.

No matter. The jounin would disarm him in no time at all.

"Kenjutsu and taijutsu only. Ready?" The blond asked, receiving two nods. One tentative, one impatient. "Fight!"

Knowing he had little chance as he was, Aki launched to meet Kakashi's attack head on, swinging his wooden blade over his head and jumping into the air. Using his gravity-given advantage the boy brought his bokken down as hard as he could, meeting his opponent's with a clatter. Both swords creaked under the stress, but as far as Kakashi could see no cracks had appeared in the wood.

Sensing an opportunity, Aki used his momentum to deliver a further kick to Kakashi's side, which was unprotected after he'd used both hands to block the first attack. He was able to shift out of the way for the most part, but the kick was infused with chakra and knocked the wind out of him. Using the burst of chakra from that kick, Aki suddenly snatched his hand out and grabbed at the blade of Kakashi's own bokken, somehow managing to launch into a front flip at the same time and using the new momentum to yank both blades up and over his head.

Kakashi was forced to let go of the bokken lest he be thrown into the air, and he found himself in a pretty tight situation. After the flip, he and Aki were now back to back, and he could sense that the boy was about to drop to his hands, bringing his legs back in a mule kick that would most certainly result in him losing the match.

In his breathless state he couldn't do much more than throw his arms behind him and grab his opponent, lacing his fingers together on his chest and leaning forward. Taking advantage of the difference in height, Kakashi forced his opponent over his back with the intention of his head hitting the ground. But just in the nick of time Aki curled his legs back so that they hit the ground first, using his stronger form to lean backwards and more or less use Kakashi's own throw against him.

A burst of chakra was used, which propelled the jounin several meters into the air, but he was able to flip himself over and land in a low crouch. The side-line shuriken that had gone all but unnoticed suddenly returned as he was grounded, but instead of dodging he chose to conserve his energy and simply palmed a kunai with which he deflected them.

Having finally been given a moment to catch his breath, Kakashi warily looked his opponent up and down. It was with a degree of hesitance that he admitted to himself that he'd underestimated Aki, at least in terms of being able to hold up to him.

While his taijutsu was nothing to sneeze at, and his kenjutsu was basically non-existent, it did seem that the boy made up for his drawbacks with his quick thinking and… unexpected reactions.

"Ninjutsu!"

He barely heard Minato's voice over the sound of blood rushing within his head, but it registered nonetheless. A hidden smirk appeared as Kakashi raised his hitai-ate, finally deciding that he ought to start getting serious. Though Aki tried to act his nervous self, the jounin could see that there was a hint of excitement dawning within his eyes. This would be an interesting fight.

The arm lock he'd forced Aki into earlier had caused him to drop the two bokken he'd captured; both of which were now resting unnoticed on the ground. Well, mostly unnoticed. Kakashi set his sight on them, hoping to reach them before his opponent could.

'_If I can get to those, it's over for him._'

They came together in a clash of fists, neither using a jutsu despite being instructed to do so. It seemed as though Aki was waiting for Kakashi to make the first move, while Kakashi was waiting to reach those bokken before he continued. They both threw several punches toward one another, but they were effectively useless as each was dodged by the other. The two of them were slowly rotating as they fought though, and it would only be a matter of time before Kakashi was in the perfect position to grab-

His mismatched eyes widened as Aki suddenly changed tactic, aiming a kick right towards his family jewels. Fortunately with the aid of the sharingan he was able to narrowly dodge the attack, but it had served to offset him well enough that he wasn't fast enough to outmanoeuvre the next punch. It hit him square on the nose, and he was sure he heard a crunch as the recoil sent him flying across the field, landing with a thud on uneven ground.

'_Uneven?'_

The bokken that Kakashi had been aiming for were now directly underneath him. Quickly jumping back to his feet, the jounin grabbed a sword in each hand, channelling chakra into them as best he could. The amount of resistance that such dense wood was causing would no doubt waste a lot of chakra, but for the time being it was all he had – not to mention the fact that he intended to finish the fight with this one move.

With Aki fast approaching him, Kakashi waited until the last moment and sidestepped the punch aimed at him. It wasn't until he'd dodged that the jounin realised how lucky he'd been – the boy's fist had at some point been encased in a layer of stone several inches thick, and taking a hit at that strength would have been enough to knock him out for sure.

But the momentum of swinging such a heavy clump of earth overbalanced Aki, and by the time he'd regained his balance Kakashi had been able to use the opportunity to jump away in a burst of chakra. With the distance between them rendering him safe for the time being, he placed the two bokken in the air and smirked once more as a spark of electricity jumped from one blade to the other. Perfect.

As his opponent reached him once more, Kakashi thrust his bokken forward in a cross shape, pressing them directly against his open chest. The punch he'd been readying collided with the jounin's left shoulder, but it meant little as the amassed electricity was discharged into him with all the force of a small explosion. It lifted him off his feet and sent him flying far into the distance, only coming to rest when his back hit the trunk of a tree and the air was forcefully removed from his lungs.

A glance towards Minato resulted in a nod, signalling that this spar was over. Kakashi lowered his hitai-ate to conserve his chakra, jogging over to the downed boy. By the time he arrived Aki had more or less caught his breath, and he looked up at his teammate with a combination of amusement and shame.

"I'm… kind of stuck." He grinned behind the bandages that had still somehow remained in place throughout their fight. "Your attack turned my legs to jelly, ya know!"

Kakashi shook his head, rolling his eyes slightly, but pulled the boy up to his feet nonetheless.

"You'll get over it." He mumbled. "Once we get back, you need to massage your muscles where you can feel the pins and needles. Work them out, so to speak."

Aki nodded, leaning heavily on the jounin as they headed to their destination; a sizeable home set on the outskirts of the village, not too far away from their training ground. Minato's home. He'd graciously opened his doors to the team after a particularly hard training mission, and from there a tradition was formed.

Once they'd arrived at the house, Minato set about making tea. This, too, was a tradition, though the blond himself much preferred to drink coffee.

Rin, ever kind as she was, had immediately commanded Aki to remove his shirt, which had become scuffed and dirty in the fight, so that she could check him over for injuries. He did so in quiet embarrassment, huddling his arms in front of his stomach as she began to heal a small cut on his back.

"Did you bring an extra shirt?" Kakashi asked, to which the boy shook his head.

"I didn't think I'd need one today as I figured we'd just be meeting up."

He suppressed yet another roll of the eyes, reaching into his bag for his own spare shirt and throwing it over to him.

"Take this one for now. It might be a bit small but still." He stated, rather matter-of-factly. "You can bring it back tomorrow or something, when we meet-"

Kakashi froze as he looked over at Aki, only to see that the boy had not noticed when he'd thrown the shirt, and as a result had ended up with it draped over his head. But it wasn't the fact that he'd missed it that had caused the jounin to freeze up, but the visions that such an image had inspired.

Several things clicked into place all at once, and the revelation sent him reeling.

"_He paused for a moment, one hand lifting as if to smooth his hair back but only settling uselessly on top of the hood he wore." _

"_But his mind was affixed on the boy in front of him, who was now running a hand through his hair"_

He simply stared at Aki as Rin finished her work, helping him to squeeze the shirt onto his larger body.

"_But just because the future is bleak, doesn't mean that we can't change our actions to improve what has not yet been written, ya know."_

"_Your attack turned my legs to jelly, ya know!"_

It would make total sense. The way he seemed to be holding back, the way it looked as though he was going to make an attack but then switched to a sloppier, less refined attack that he was clearly out of practice with.

All of a sudden Kakashi understood. It was all crystal clear in his mind, clearer than anything had been in the past two weeks since Obito's "death".

'_Does sensei know?'_

It didn't matter. Kakashi had no way of proving that this theory was correct, and he wasn't going to risk breaking an S-ranked law just for some curiosity. For now he would observe, monitor this boy to see if he could gauge his true intentions. Because as far as he could tell, there was a whole lot more to Aki than he was letting on.

Like the fact that he was showing a whole lot of similarities to the man that called himself Kamen.

_**/\/\/\/**_

**Let me know how I did. This is my first time writing a time travel fic and it's also my first time writing from the POV of the rules-lawyer that Kakashi was back when he was young. If there's anything you think I've missed or anything you feel like I could have added, let me know.**

**I'm intending for this fic to be, at most, five chapters. Just throwing that out there. Don't expect this to be a long story ;)**

**Kamen = Mask**


	2. A Time for Regrets

**Been a few things happening lately (And I've just been struggling to write) so apologies for the time taken between uploads.**

**Believe it or not I'd resolved myself to settle with shorter chapters from now on, since I've really been struggling to write things down and the prospect of having so much content to write before I can upload has brought down my motivation. **

…**turns out, telling myself I'll just write until I feel comfortable stopping is a good thing to do.**

**From now on I won't be checking my word count or content quantity, so you'll likely be seeing more frequent uploads but with less words. Depending on how well that goes I may stick to such a chapter basis in the future. **

**Reviews have all been taken on board. Since I seem to be getting a few more reviews in this fic than I usually do I'm not going to respond to them all individually, but I will take key points and respond to them in general down at the bottom.**

**A Time for Regrets**

"Thank you for the tea, sensei." Aki grinned. "Same time tomorrow for team meetings?"

The blond nodded. There was a neutral expression on his face, Kakashi noted, but it remained soft and kind at the same time.

He turned, intending to follow Rin and Aki through the front door, but the feeling of eyes on his back made him look back towards his teacher. Now that Minato's face was hidden to everyone but Kakashi, his eyes had narrowed and hardened, displaying a message within them clear as day.

_Wait for a moment._ They told him. _I need to speak to you. _

Signalling his teammates, the jounin told them to go on without him. They obliged, bidding their goodnight as they did so, and strolled down the street with all the airs of two good friends.

He couldn't help but frown at the scene before turning back to his sensei, watching as he closed and sealed the door.

"You noticed too, huh."

It wasn't a question, and Kakashi didn't need any context to know exactly what he was saying.

"I did."

"Thoughts?"

"Similarities in speech and mannerisms." Kakashi thought for a moment. "He's actively avoiding his signature style, too."

Minato nodded, having noticed the same things.

"When I interviewed him yesterday, he seemed to hold a lot of respect for you."

Respect? Well, this was new. It seemed to him that Aki was rather more pissed off at him about the way he was dodging the attacks, but then come to think of it, maybe he was just getting annoyed at having to actively use a style he's not so good at using. Besides that, it made sense that one would have to change their outward feelings for someone if they're looking to protect their identity. In any case, it was pretty clear that Aki was an amateur with deception.

"A student or comrade then, I guess." He replied offhandedly, but then a sudden realisation hit him. "Unless… What if…"

"Don't ask that question, Kakashi." The blond warned. "Not unless you're prepared for the consequences that such an answer may generate."

That… was understandable. Kakashi had been about to suggest that Aki could be _him_. That Aki might be Kakashi Hatake of the future, come to spend time with his younger self for whatever reason. Though the more he looked at it, the less likely that seemed.

'_I wouldn't allow myself to do such a shoddy job of hiding my identity, after all.'_

But then again… was that all a part of his plan too? Was Aki deliberately showing Kakashi that he was Kamen? Ugh, the headache that had been growing since using the sharingan seemed to double in intensity as his mind tried to work through all the different possibilities.

"I understand. But I'm still keeping an eye on him." He answered eventually.

"That's fine – but Kakashi, don't forget that he's still human." Minato replied. "And while we're on that subject, don't forget that _you _are still human too."

The jounin cocked his head at that, a deep frown marring what little of his face was visible.

"Don't think I haven't noticed the way you're bottling up your feelings. It's barely been two weeks, you still need to heal."

He sighed, glancing down at his hands.

"I know, sensei. I know," he muttered solemnly.

His second, closely guarded mask had slipped. It revealed a doleful expression, so out of place on such a young boy and yet somehow so fitting. The mask of a seasoned shinobi. But Minato didn't need to see behind it to know that Kakashi was hurting; not when the sorrow was so clearly visible in that cold eye of his.

He'd been studying that expression rather a lot these past two weeks.

"But I'm a shinobi, first and foremost. It doesn't matter how I feel, I must have a clear head to complete the mission."

He kept his eye cast down, even when Minato crouched until he was at eye level.

"Tell me, Kakashi." He commanded. The fatherly voice he usually used was still there, but there was a hokage-like undertone that poked through, subconsciously causing him to stand a little taller. The jounin's face did not move, but it hardened as the invisible mask returned. "What happens when you put air into a balloon?"

"It inflates." Kakashi answered dully.

"And what happens when it keeps inflating?"

"Eventually it bursts." A lone dark eye flickered up to meet two crystal blue ones, only lingering for a split second before returning to its original position. He could understand the analogy. "But a balloon that can stretch to accommodate the inflation does not burst."

A blond eyebrow rose, allowing him to continue.

"I dealt with the death of my own father at the age of six. No, not even just death. It was worse than that. I was the one to find him. My balloon was filled to capacity, but still it did not burst. Instead it adapted, adjusted its capacity to make up for it." He stated, not a hint of feeling within his tone. "Obito's death means very little in comparison."

Now it was Minato's turn to frown deeply as he caught the boy's meaning.

"It's not that it doesn't hurt, though. Obviously it does." He corrected quickly. "But compared to my father, dealing with this is child's play."

The blond drew Kakashi into a hug, which he tolerated stiffly but made no effort to return.

"I… I visit him, you know. At the memorial," the boy continued eventually. "I let the emotion vent out a little when I'm there. So don't worry about me, okay? I'm dealing with it in my own way. It's kind of difficult to feel upset about him when I know what he'll become in the future, anyway."

"We don't know what will happen in the future."

His sensei's voice was firm now, as though he was absolutely certain of his words. Their vibrations were a welcome comfort against Kakashi's chest.

"Kamen's arrival here will throw the events of the future into disarray. If Obito really has such a drastic hand in the events yet to come, I have no doubt that Kamen will be sure to change his actions. So keep your head up, alright?"

Kakashi nodded, finally allowing his tense stature to fall. He rested his forehead on the man's shoulder, appreciating the warmth even just for a moment. It wasn't often that he was afforded the chance to feel such fatherly love, after all.

**/\/\/\/**

It was pretty strange, how fond he'd grown of Aki over the past year. While at first they'd been largely indifferent to one another, the missions they'd taken had gradually brought them closer together.

He supposed that a little bonding was to be expected of two comrades fighting for their lives alongside one another. But sometimes when Aki allowed his awkward persona to slip, something else radiated through that reminded him of all the people he'd once held close. Obito. His father. The few ANBU that had treated him kindly following the death of the White Fang. They were no longer here, now. But at the same time, Aki also reminded him so much of himself.

When he thought that no one was looking, his eyes would darken. His actions would no longer hold the same energy as they usually did, as if he had to pretend that he cared about being a shinobi.

It was a much more common occurrence during particularly difficult missions, especially when those missions involved spilling blood. To the untrained eye it was barely noticeable - just furtive glances down towards his hands, or the way he hesitated before dealing the final blow to an enemy. But it was there.

At first this behaviour had been met with little more than disdain. Aki had stated right on the day they first met that he intended to join the ANBU, had he not? Such... _cowardly_ behaviour was wholly unbefitting for someone with such lofty ambitions after all.

But at some point - and Kakashi honestly had no idea when - disdain had turned to pity as the jounin began to spot the same movements in his own actions. He'd long since stilled the tremors in his arms after taking a life, but the emotional impact was still there, however muted it was.

On some of his frequent visits, he was sure that he spotted Aki at the memorial stone. Fingers traced not the intricately carved letters of loved ones lost, but bare sections of rock that were yet to be engraved.

He didn't want to imagine how it felt to be in that position. How it would feel to realise that everyone whose names you've had to witness being carved into that stone were now alive and well... but had no idea about who you were, or how important they were to you. It sounded like a living nightmare - one far worse than just being the one to discover your father's body as Kakashi had done.

At least with death, there was a finality to it. A certainty that you're never going to get that person back. But to know that they're no longer the people you knew them to be seems far more heartbreaking than anything else.

And, perhaps even worse than that, would be the inevitable end. Maybe Aki would be able to rebuild his bonds with the people he'd lost. He could well save them from their fates, setting them on a new path they'd otherwise never have walked.

But death would come around, eventually. Yet again he would be forced to watch as he lost those he'd only just been able to get back. And it would bring with it an emptiness that Kakashi was truly unable to comprehend.

He let out a combination of a sigh and a growl, pulling himself out of bed before his thoughts could travel any further down that hole. The team had missions to complete today, so he really needed to keep a clear head.

Kakashi wandered into the kitchen, idly browsing his cupboards for something quick to eat. As usual he'd woken up with the sun, which provided ample time for him to potter around making food before his team meeting in three hours' time. But as he opened and closed each container in succession, the jounin found that he _really _didn't want to eat right now.

Strange. Even when he wasn't particularly hungry, his body always allowed for him to eat anyway. It had been a result of consistently forcing himself to eat a meal every day in the aftermath of his father's death - not because he wanted nor cared to eat, but because he was determined to follow the rules.

The rules said that it was best to eat at least one meal per day, even when you're not feeling well. Kakashi obliged.

It was only one change of many that he'd gone through after those few horrible weeks. Even now, even with Obito's "dying" words still ringing clear in his ears, he still found it difficult to push the boundaries of the things he'd been following for most of his life.

It had been a coping strategy. A way to assure himself that he wouldn't face the same fate as his father, because he knew that unlike the White Fang he was doing his duty. But when Obito had shown him a new path, where bonds of friendship and camaraderie were valued over the law, it had inspired him to change even just a little bit.

_"People who don't follow the rules are trash, that's true. But those who abandon their friends are worse than trash!" _

The jounin was almost thankful when a series of frantic knocks roused him from yet another thoughtful daze. He knew immediately that it was Aki stood outside of the door, but this fact served only to worry him more than anything.

Aki didn't frantically knock doors. In fact, he usually barely tapped them loud enough for anyone to hear. If something had gotten _him _worked up, then surely that was cause for concern.

Opening the door, Kakashi was met with the sight of the chuunin pacing back and forth on the doorstep. One hand was running itself through his hair in what was obviously a nervous tic while the other had clearly been poised to continue in its knocking.

"Kakashi, get suited up." The boy commanded. "We're being put on an emergency rescue mission."

His heart skipped a beat as he studied those silver eyes. There was an emotion hidden in them that he just couldn't place, and he sure as hell didn't like it.

"Who are we rescuing?" Kakashi asked simply as rushed to his room and began pulling on his uniform. Aki hesitated, glancing away for a moment before answering.

"Rin's been kidnapped."

The clatter of a dropped kunai was all Aki needed to hear to know that the jounin had understood his quiet admission.

_**/\/\/\/**_

Two shinobi stood before the hokage, eyes cold and hard as they received their mission brief. On the inside their minds were swirling, but they wouldn't allow it to show on their faces.

"What about sensei?"

The sandaime hummed in thought, seemingly in no particular rush despite the time-sensitivity of the mission he was delivering.

"Your sensei is currently on a mission." He eventually continued. "He is due to return soon, and when he does I shall send him your way."

"Can't you summon him?" Aki interjected; hands clenched tightly into fists. "Surely you have a way of contacting him right? He can literally jump over to us in a second! Hell, he could even jump straight over to Rin and-"

The thud of a palm colliding with the hokage's desk cut him off abruptly, and Kakashi could see that his teammate had pushed the man too far.

"You might have earned my affection over these past few months, boy, but you seem to have forgotten your place." He growled. To Aki's credit he didn't flinch as a heavy dose of killing intent swept around the room, but there was yet another indiscernible look within his eye. "You will _never_ speak to me in that tone again, or I will see to it that you are punished. Am I understood?"

A shaky nod was all he received in return.

"While I have no doubt that Minato will have a personal interest in this mission, he is still under my command as an elite shinobi. The mission he is currently partaking in holds a _far _higher importance than that of a mere genin, regardless of how much you care for her."

He saw it. He saw the way Aki's eyes flickered over to him for just a second; a silent plea for him to rise to his aid. But Kakashi remained where he was, head bowed and hands held behind his back to hide his now bleeding palms from view.

It wasn't for lack of willingness, not at all. Hiruzen's blasé dismissal of Rin as an important person had inspired a rush of anger within him, but deep down he knew that the man was right. In the eyes of a shinobi, Rin was simply a run-of-the-mill genin. It would be an unfortunate loss, sure, but they were in a war, damnit! Casualties have and will continue to happen, such is the way of the shinobi, and pulling one of Konoha's strongest fighters away from a mission that may have the capacity to change the tides of battle for the sake of a single genin… well it wouldn't happen, end of story.

Thus Kakashi ignored it, that look that was so much like the people he'd lost. He ignored it in favour of focusing on his painfully clenched fists; using the pain as a distraction from the true pain within him.

"Having said that, I do not wish to see Konoha blood unnecessarily shed." The hokage continued. His voice had softened now, though it still held its formality. "And I have no doubt that the two of you are well equipped enough to deal with the problem yourselves."

Silver eyes closed for a brief moment, as though Aki was collecting himself.

"Understood, hokage-sama." He replied flatly. "We'll head out immediately- I mean, if you're okay with that?"

"Yes. If there are no more questions, you're dismissed. Good luck, both of you."

_**/\/\/\/ **_

Kakashi skidded to a halt, nearly overbalancing as he did so. Aki followed suit, though he was forced to use chakra to stick himself to the underside of the branch they were standing on as he couldn't quite right himself in time.

"You hear something?" He asked quietly, motioning to the jounin. Kakashi nodded, lowering himself into a crouch as he pulled up his hitai-ate.

Aki watched on anxiously as his teammate glanced around. Straining his own ears brought only the sound of a gentle breeze wafting through the air; the tranquillity seeming to set him on edge far more efficiently than anything else that they'd encountered.

"Two groups." Kakashi muttered. "multiple enemies in each… I'm counting seven behind us, and maybe five in front, but they're barely in my range."

So they were being followed, it seemed. The taller boy cursed quietly at this, no doubt frustrated with the fact that he'd completely missed them.

"Its best if we split up." Aki advised him suddenly. "I'll stay back and set a few traps, and you can go ahead and find Rin. I'll be right behind you once I've finished them off, okay?"

"But-"

"There's no time, Kakashi. Every moment we waste puts Rin in more danger. Go! I'll be alright!"

The jounin hesitated for a single moment longer, glancing between the boy and the approaching group, before jumping off and into the trees. It took less than a minute for him to reach a small clearing, lit up by a stacked campfire. His estimation had been correct; five enemies stood in various positions around the area – two tending to the campfire, where a boar was roasting away, one sharpening his sword at a whetstone only a few meters away, and two others standing guard over a large sack.

His sharingan picked up a faint hint of Rin's chakra emanating from the sack, so weak it was barely detectable. Her form was unmoving, barely distinguishable under the rough fabric save for the miniscule rise and fall of shallow breathing.

So she was unconscious, it seemed.

The jounin's eyes flickered around as he formulated a plan. He eventually nodded to himself slowly, turning and picking up a small pebble from the ground. Thrown with expert precision, the pebble landed in the bushes a small way away with a barely-audible thud, attracting the attention of only the closest shinobi.

He stayed low and quiet as the man stood up, strolling cautiously into the trees to determine the source of the noise. In a show of ingenuity Kakashi crept forward, utilising his small stature to remain hidden as he placed an explosive tag on the footrest of the unattended whetstone and priming it to explode on contact.

His task complete, he proceeded to head back into the treeline and circled around towards the two enemies guarding Rin, getting as close as he could without compromising himself. They were still several meters away from cover, meaning that he would have to dash for them in plain sight, but if all went to plan…

Before he could finish that line of thought, Kakashi's mismatched eyes narrowed as the lone enemy returned from the trees. Just as he'd hoped, the man's guard was down as he sat back down at the whetstone, studying his sword intensely.

'_come on…'_

The jounin released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding as the shinobi shrugged to himself, placing his sword back onto the stone and lifting his foot to the pedal.

_**Boom!**_

Just as he'd hoped, the explosion rocketed around the enemy, tearing his leg clean off and propelling him onto his back. The sword that he'd dropped in his shock was blasted into the air, coming to rest mere inches away from his face.

The screams attracted the attention of the other four men in the clearing, and the two that had been observing the fire rushed over to help him. The guards that stood around the sack straightened up but made no effort to move; instead peering into the treeline with searching glares as they looked to identify what had caused the explosion.

Perfect.

Before they could so much as blink, Kakashi utilised a chakra-fuelled jump to cross the area. He landed with an arm wrapped around the closer enemy, slitting his throat with practiced ease before using his legs to propel himself over to his partner. The man had just enough time to stare wide-eyed the jounin before he too fell to his knees with a kunai protruding from his neck.

The other two were so caught up tending to their fallen comrade that they never registered the thuds behind them. It took little more than a pair of chakra-enforced shuriken to take them out, the metal slicing through them like butter.

Kakashi looked around him suspiciously, feeling that the ambush had been far too easy for his liking. There was surely no way that someone of Rin's calibre would have been so easily kidnapped by these… these _amateurs _without at least making a scene. What the hell was going on here?

He sharpened his senses, noting with interest that Aki seemed to still be fighting his own enemies, though their chakra signatures were rapidly being snuffed out. No other presences were immediately felt, but Kakashi stayed alert nonetheless.

As he pulled Rin out of the sack, he noticed that her chakra was fluctuating slightly. Her eyes fluttered open as he gave her a once-over, sighing with relief as he saw no outward sign of damage… or at least, it _seemed _like she was unharmed. But the tears that began to stream down her cheeks suggested otherwise.

"Kakashi, you need to-"

The girl's statement was cut off as the jounin raised his head sharply. Multiple chakra signatures had appeared, clearly belonging to powerful shinobi considering how close they'd been able to come before he'd been able to sense them.

"We have to go." He urged his teammate, but she held onto his arm. "Rin?"

"They sealed it into me…" She told him. "The Sanbi."

Kakashi's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat as the consequences of such an occurrence registered within him. But the signatures were approaching, bringing with them a sense of urgency.

"It's okay, we'll deal with it." He replied. "But there are people coming. We have to go!"

But Rin shook her head.

"He put a seal on my heart… he's going to release it on the village!" She yelled, barely making sense. "You have to kill me, Kakashi- before it's too late!"

"No! I'm not going to kill you, Rin… Kami, why are you saying this? We need to go! Whatever it is these guys have done to you, I'm sure we'll be able to work it out. We'll talk to sensei, okay? He's great with seals."

"It won't… it won't work!"

Kakashi shook his head, blinking away the tears that burned behind his eyes. "I promised Obito that I would take care of you. Would you… I… I can't break that promise, I just can't."

Their hasty conversation had taken too long. Multiple shinobi appeared suddenly, circling around them. These ones, unlike the ones he'd already taken down, were adorned by gleaming hitai-ates, each baring the same insignia.

_Kirigakure._

There were maybe twenty enemies surrounding the two of them; far more than Kakashi would have liked to fight while protecting his teammate. Many of them were brandishing swords, though a few held kunai and shuriken.

Silence reigned for a single second, creating a tension in the air that was almost palpable. Kakashi jumped into the air suddenly, dodging several thrown shuriken as his movement roused everyone to attack. Chaos ensued as the jounin found himself disarming the first opponent he came to, quickly slitting his defenceless throat and turning to block an attack from behind. Three shinobi surrounded him, swinging their swords in unison as he was forced to drop into a crouch to avoid them. Sweeping out with his stolen sword, Kakashi sliced at the ankles of those nearest to him, downing two of them and barely missing the third. He used his momentum to twist around, planting his palms onto the ground and hoisting his legs in the air in a mule kick that collided with the third enemy's nose with a sickening crunch.

The ease with which he dispatched those four enemies caused the rest of them to pause for a moment, now keeping their distance. A new enemy stepped into the circle that had formed, clad in thick armour and brandishing a hefty-looking war-axe. The air around his body seemed to warp before the jounin's eyes as the axe began to glow at the edges.

To see a mist-nin utilising fire jutsu was an interesting development, that was for sure. In Kirigakure the thick mist lacing the air made it particularly difficult to pull off fire-based techniques, so shinobi often stuck to using water- and wind-based elements to combat this.

Nonetheless, this was a dangerous opponent. He would have to tread carefully with him.

The enemy rushed forwards with surprising speed, the glowing edge of his axe slashing inches away from Kakashi's face. But the strength with which he had attacked left him open as the momentum of his swing sent him off-balance, and the jounin was able to get in a solid kick to the groin before backtracking.

Both of them hissed in pain at that – The enemy having felt the pain of that kick even despite being protected by his armour, and Kakashi having immediately been burned by the close proximity. Glancing down at his foot, he noticed that his toes were beginning to turn an angry red colour, blisters forming almost immediately.

It didn't take a genius to realise that this opponent was using fire style in conjunction with some kind of water jutsu, creating a scalding hot mist that surrounded his form in what seemed to be an imitation of the _boil release_ kekkei touta.

Kakashi's analytical mind blurred through the potential uses for such a jutsu as he faced off with his enemy. Presumably the thick armour served to protect the man from being burned on his own steam, with its metallic outer shell absorbing the heat and a thick heat-proof padding underneath to protect him. The limited movement that one would experience would be drastically outweighed by the benefits of having all-over protection from attacks, but he should imagine that prolonged use of this cloak would result in the user becoming dehydrated.

There was one glaring weakness that Kakashi could see in his opponent, though. The jutsu involved wearing _metallic _armour. Covered in _water._

And the jounin had the _perfect _counter-jutsu.

Flashing through hand seals, Kakashi closed his right eye. Lightning crackled to life in his hand as his sharingan centered on his opponent's chest. In a blur of movement he leapt forward, hand poised to pierce the enemy-

_Only for Rin to jump into his path._

Though his eyes could see her move, it was far too late for Kakashi to change direction. He could do little more than close his eyes as the image of his teammate's face was burned into his mind, brought into sharp contrast by the lightning.

His heart sank as he felt his hand pierce through flesh, disintegrating the recipient's heart with ease. The momentum of his attack brought him further forward, and his head collided with _burning hot steel_.

Opening his eyes in confusion, the jounin found his face and arm exploding in pain as burns formed, and he quickly pulled his arm out of the dying figure before him. His Chidori had hit its target dead-on, piercing into the armour-clad opponent he'd been aiming for in the first place.

'_What happened to Rin?'_

Eyes darting around in panic, Kakashi caught sight of his teammate slumped over on the ground, as if thrown there by someone. The sound of a sword piercing flesh behind the jounin grabbed his attention, and a tall cloaked figure came into view as he turned.

A Shinigami mask adorned the figure's face as he twirled and danced around the mist-nin, cutting them down with frightening precision. Kakashi tried to catch a glimpse of his saviour – a lock of hair, a stray piece of clothing behind the cloak, _anything! _– but a grey hood covered his head.

_Kamen._

He swallowed thickly as he rushed over to Rin, looking her over once more. But she was unharmed, save for a small scratch on her cheek.

"Rin!"

The voice rang out, startling Kakashi with its familiarity. There was only one person who sounded like that, and despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins he couldn't help the way his vision blurred with unshed tears. He turned to the panicked footsteps behind him, taking in the glowing sharingan as he offered the approaching person a watery grin.

Even after everything that had happened, even after what the hokage had told him… there was still a part of him that was filled with overwhelming joy as he clarified just who was before him.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you here." He exclaimed as the tears finally spilled over. "I've missed you, Obito."

_**/\/\/\/**_

**Cliff-hanger!**

**There was meant to be more content in this chapter, but I found it becoming pretty long so I've decided to cut it off here for now.**

**It might seem like there is a lot of missed content in this story due to time skips, but this is more due to the fact that the story centres around events that are relatively far apart. I promise I'm doing my best to find a middle ground between too much content-skipping and too much needless world-building.**

**In response to reviews: Thank you for your support and interest. It makes me happy :) **

**I admit that I didn't portray Kakashi very well in chapter 1. I hope that this chapter has served to fix what I missed last time. It was a deliberate action to have him seem almost detached to the whole incident with Obito, but for the first chapter I failed to make it clear that I had intended it to happen. **

_**/\/\/\/**_

**Now for an important message. With Covid-19 at everyone's door, I need to stress something to you guys. **

**I am a chronic asthmatic. Like, to the point where I'll be taking an inhaler at **_**least**_** once per day. If I get corona, there's a good chance I won't be able to pull through. I've already had one scare so far, where I started exhibiting symptoms, but fortunately it's just been a false alarm. **

**If I find out that I have corona, I'll be sure to update all of my fics with a message explaining this. The harsh truth, though, is that there might not be any more updates after. Obviously I'll do my best to pass on my information to someone so that if the worst case scenario does occur, and I lose my life, they'll hopefully be able to update my fics or otherwise my bio with information as such. If that does happen, I'll ask that spoilers for the ending of all my fics will be put onto my bio so that you do not have to deal with an abandoned story. Whether you read those spoilers will be up to you.**

**If I release a chapter stating that I have the virus, and I don't update you within one month, then assume that the worst has happened.**

**In that case, all of my fics will be open for adoption. Obviously I'm not expecting anyone to take on such a big commitment there, but I just wanted to make it known. They will be free for anyone to use, and whether or not you decide to write it how you want it to go or follow the spoilers I've posted, it's entirely up to you. **

**Apologies for turning to such a dark topic, but I just wanted to let you readers know. Just in case.**

**Stay safe, everyone. 3 **


	3. A Time for Repetition

**I have some news! Because the digital artist profession requires relatively high specs, Neither my own computer nor the better computer I borrow the use of from my mom are powerful enough to support me. My nan has kindly offered me a loan to pay for a new laptop though, and without going into detail it's 4x faster running than what I currently use. Not to mention the fact that it's a laptop, which means that I'll have plenty more opportunities to get writing done!**

**I've always wanted to try writing in a public setting, like a coffee shop, so this'll totally help me improve my productivity!**

Blood seeped into the dirt; crimson rivulets flowing from the corpses Kamen left behind. His rampage left no opponent standing. His sword glimmered in the sunlight, too fast for Kakashi even to get a grasp on his technique.

He supposed he could have studied the movement with his Sharingan, but given the way his head spun from sheer exhaustion it certainly wouldn't be wise. It had been a risky move, using the Chidori so early in the fight.

When the last body fell, Kamen turned and began to walk back into the forest. Unnoticed behind him, two former friends were reunited.

Kakashi's eyes searched out the face he knew so well, despite the deep scars that lined the left half of his body. A single Sharingan, identical to his own, stared back at him with an intensity that set the back of his neck tingling.

The jounin's emotions burst forth in a crescendo of unspoken apologies jumbling together until he no longer knew what to say. His mouth opened and closed several times as he scrambled for the right words, but nothing came forth.

Eventually, he gave up, instead stumbling towards his friend with arms spread wide. The spinning sensation behind Kakashi's eyes tripled in intensity. His knees began to tremble, no longer willing to hold up the weight of his tired body. He crashed to the ground at Obito's feet, tears he'd tried so hard to push back finally flowing forth.

A hand reached into his vision and Kakashi grabbed it, looking up in gratitude as his teammate pulled him up to his knees-

Only to plant an unavoidable fist into his face, which sent him flying onto his back.

"You nearly killed her!", Obito cried out, falling to his knees so that he was straddled atop Kakashi's waist and throwing punch after punch at his defenseless body.

"You- made- a- promise- to- me!", he screamed into the jounin's bloody face. Every word was punctuated with yet another punch. "You- said- you- would- protect her!"

"Obito, stop it!"

Rin's voice, weak and timid, was enough cause for him to stop what he was doing. He glanced over his shoulder at her, his mouth slackening from its angry snarl. Kakashi took the opportunity he'd been given, quickly pushing Obito off of him and clambering to his feet as the Uchiha did the same.

He opened his left eye, wincing at the headache that was beginning to form, before settling into a combative stance. As exhausted as he was, Kakashi wasn't sure if he'd be able to fight Obito off.

In a blur of movement, they rushed forth, fists clashing several times before Kakashi finally managed to land a hit on his opponent's left shoulder. The boy stumbled back in agony.

Without giving Obito time to recover, the jounin landed several more hits to his left side, crippling him further with each success. As Kakashi backtracked several meters, his teammate doubled over. A splatter of blood hit the ground as he coughed weakly, only furthering Kakashi's theory. Obito's crushed side had still not fully healed, and provided the perfect Achilles' heel for him to push against.

A growl began to emanate from the Uchiha, growing in intensity until it turned into an outright scream of rage.

"You left me!"

In a sudden burst of chakra Obito began to sprint towards his former friend. His footfalls left small craters in the dirt as he rocketed forth, pulling out a gleaming kunai. Kakashi prepared himself, readying a blade of his own and using up the last of his chakra in a last ditch attempt to match the Uchiha's power.

The pair flew at one another, moving so fast that their bodies became little more than blurs. Chakra laced kunai sparked and hissed, carving bright slashes into the air as they sought out their target with determined precision. The jounin closed his eyes, accepting his fate as the gleaming metal approached.

Two blades carved into flesh with a sickening squelch. Bones resisted against the intrusion, but were soon shattered by the powerful chakra fuelling the metal. They dug deeper, paying no mind to the fragile tissue of a lung caught in their path.

The sound of metal clashing against metal filled Kakashi's overburdened mind, capturing his attention with its shrill ring.

There was no pain.

**/\/\/**

Trembling hands tried to stop the blood, but it slipped between his fingers. Not even his balled up shirt was enough to stem the crimson river. An agonized wail leapt from his throat, only adding to the cacophony of his racing heart.

His breath came in laboured gasps. The edges of his vision began to fade as his limbs grew heavy, falling bonelessly to the ground. The exhaustion finally took over, and Kakashi finally lost consciousness.

Beneath his slumped form, Rin Nohara took her final breath.

**/\/\/**

"It's okay, Kakashi. You're okay."

The soothing words cut through his panic, pulling him from the nightmare he was embroiled in. But they weren't enough.

"Calm down, please!"

This time Kakashi was able to put a name to the voice, and this new revelation inched him closer towards reality. His nose was the first to return - he could smell the fresh sheets surrounding him. The faintest trace of blood that would take days to get rid of.

The lingering scent of Rin.

"Aki!"

The jounin shot up from the bed, his head colliding with someone else's. Immediately there were hands on his chest, trying to push him back down onto the bed, but he resisted them as he searched for his teammate.

Aki sat on the floor, one hand pressed to his forehead as he peered from behind his cloth bindings.

"Where- where are they?"

The boy's gentle smile soon fell, replaced with a pitiful stare.

"I... I couldn't save her, Kakashi," he mumbled solemnly. "I'm so sorry, I tried to... I tried to get there in time, but it was-"

Aki's voice broke. He stared at the ground, not daring to look up at his grieving teammate.

"She's... gone," his voice was flat and cold, betraying no hint of the emotions that were clearly swirling through his mind. "What about Obito?"

Aki's blank stare was all Kakashi needed to see, to know what had happened. Obito had run away, just like the coward he was.

"Can you tell me what happened?" someone asked him. Her voice was gentle, but the jounin thought it was pretty forced.

"Don't you see he needs time to process this first?" Aki growled back at her before Kakashi could respond, releasing a hefty dose of killing intent upon her as he did. The boy shook his head at his teammate's outburst though, and looked up at the woman beside him.

"No, I'm okay. Lets get this over with."

**/\/\/**

Taking on the enemies had been easy enough. I was skilled enough in the basis of escape and evasion that it really didn't take a lot of time to set up a little ambush and lead them away from Kakashi.

The problem is, I had underestimated my abilities to actually get rid of them. I'm sure that there was at least one sensor within this group, and no matter how fast I ran they caught up to me. I was able to pick them off one by one, using simple tricks and explosive tags, but eventually three of them caught up to me and I was forced to fight.

They were... surprisingly easy to kill, actually. I should have figured as much from the fact that most were taken down by my obvious attacks, but still. I killed them easily enough with just a kunai and some earth jutsu, but one of them managed to land a blow to my head while I fought. I was confused, and when I was finally able to work out my position I realised that it was quite a long way away.

There was something in my head, telling me to get back to Kakashi as fast as I could. But I was unsteady, ya know. The closer I got, the more urgent I felt, and eventually the smell of blood hit me.

When I got into the field, all I could see was the bodies. There were so many of them, I didn't even know where to start counting. Most of the bodies had the same clothes, so it wasn't too hard to find Kakashi. Especially when I realised he wasn't wearing a shirt. I was so worried when he wasn't moving... I thought he might have died.

When I checked his pulse, it was a little fast. But it was strong. I knew just from my weak sensing abilities that Kakashi was unconscious from chakra exhaustion, and all the blood covering him wasn't from his own wounds.

It was... It was Rin's blood. She was already dead when I found her.

**/\/\/**

A crash could be heard nearby as Aki finished his report, and a familiar mop of blond hair appeared in the doorway. Minato had a stone cold expression plastered onto his face, but the unshed tears sparkling within his eyes betrayed the emotion within him.

"Is- is it true?" He asked, looking fearfully between his two students. "Is she...?"

Kakashi lowered his head, and that was all his sensei needed to know.

He fell to his knees... and cried.

**/\/\/**

Twenty-seven people stood side by side. The cloudy sky mirrored the darkness of their clothing, but the assembled mourners paid no mind to the pattering rain.

Minato knelt at the front of their procession, dressed in a simple suit and tie. Trembling hands set a framed photograph down among a bed of flowers. A simple headstone was set into the ground, engraved with a name Kakashi would never forget.

Here lies Rin Nohara.

"Rin..."

The lump within his throat refused to budge. There were so many things left unspoken between them, so many promises he couldn't keep. The idea of letting go of Rin was just too much to bear.

A hand touched Kakashi's shoulder, and he looked up instinctively. Aki stared down at him, mustering the ghost of a smile behind his mask, but the action only served to hurt him further.

Before he could realise what he was doing, Kakashi shrugged the hand off with far more force than needed, and disappeared into the fog.

**_/\/\/_**

**Sorry, it's a pretty short chapter this time around but I figured it's best to keep it relevant. There's no real point in continuing to the next scene when it's totally contrasting with the contents of this chapter.**

**I've resolved myself to take part in at least one writing sprint per day from now on, so prepare yourselves for at least a little more consistency. But that will be split between my other fics too.**

**Special thanks to "Stars & Coffee", whose wonderful comment on my AO3 upload inspired me to start writing more. 3**


	4. A Time for Reparations

**Sorry for how long this took. Life got in the way, as usual. From now on I've decided to start writing shorter chapters... but we'll see how that goes.**

A Time for Reparations

Empty.

There was no other way to describe the feeling deep inside Kakashi's chest. It ballooned within him, leaving no more than a hole where his heart should be. Nothing made sense without her by his side.

As he sat in silence, staring at that black stone, he couldn't bring himself to care about anything.

Kakashi had always struggled to envision the future. It was one of the things his father had drummed into him, to always appreciate the present before dwelling on what's yet to come. When he died, the boy stopped looking altogether.

It's only when something is taken away from you that you appreciate its true value.

The future had always been there, Kakashi knew, even when he couldn't seem to see it. But now that Rin was gone, even the minuscule glimpses he'd been afforded had all but disappeared.

He took out his kunai, dragging its tip across the memorial stone in careful strokes. It took an application of chakra for him to make enough of a mark, but he remained diligent in his task.

Soon enough, a new name had been added to the stone.

Kakashi traced his messy handiwork with a finger, reminiscing on the time he'd spent with her. That time she'd dragged him out to a restaurant, despite his many protests to the latter. The day Minato had forced them to climb the hokage monument with Obito hog-tied between them. The memories flashed behind his eyes like the dying embers of a campfire.

A twig snapping from behind Kakashi broke him from his daze. He didn't turn to look at the newcomer, already recognising Aki for his unique scent. The boy stood behind him in relative silence, staring at the fresh name.

"I... used to come here a lot," he mumbled. "It helped me to remember why I'm still fighting."

The jounin sent him a quizzical glance.

"I fight so that one day we won't lose the people dearest to us," Aki knelt as he spoke; eyes level with uncarved stone. "I believe that one day we might be able to understand one another as friends, regardless of our background or our village."

"You don't believe that," Kakashi remarked.

"Well, time works in mysterious ways. I used to believe in it without question, but as more and more people die at the hands of others... seeing how Rin died for nothing- "

"Don't you dare," Kakashi growled, his icy tone sending a shiver down Aki's spine. "You don't sit there and act like some wise old sage when you barely knew her. You're barely even a _teammate_."

He caught a glimpse of his teammate's startled eyes, and something within him snapped.

"You have no right saying that what happened to Rin was _nothing! _You could have saved her, Aki! If you hadn't been so incompetent you might have been able to get there in time, but _no! _You had to go and get caught in some wild goose chase all because you're incapable of taking down a few pointless shinobi!"

Kakashi's rant had left him panting, the rage and hurt he'd bottled up finally breaking loose. He knew he'd crossed the line, but he didn't care. He could see Aki's shoulders quivering with what he could only assume were tears he couldn't hold back.

Of _course _he was crying.

All of a sudden the jounin found himself knocked flat on his back as his teammate moved faster than he'd thought possible. A hand found its way to his throat, clenching tightly as Aki's face came into view. What little of his face was visible was pulled into a vicious scowl.

"Don't think I don't know whose kunai dealt the killing blow," He snarled before a sudden chop to the neck brought him collapsing bonelessly onto Kakashi.

An ANBU stood over them. He allowed the jounin several moments to regain his breath, then hoisted Aki onto his back.

"Your presence is requested by the Hokage." He muttered simply. "He needs your help subduing Namikaze-san."

"_Subduing_?"

"Your sensei is behaving in a manner which could only be described... as a shinobi temper tantrum."

_**/\/\/**_

There was certainly something going on when Kakashi entered the Hokage tower. Even from two floors below the office, the sound of thrown furniture and muffled yelling was loud enough to attract a small crowd.

At the main stairwell which would lead to the Hokage's office, several people were pushing and shoving in an attempt to gain access. Many were exclaiming that they were simply concerned for the Hokage's wellbeing, but Kakashi recognised several civilians within the crowd who were renowned for their gossiping. It disgusted him that they would prey on such a concerning occurrence for their information trades.

As he finally pushed through the chaos, the jounin came face to face with a rather ruffled looking secretary.

"Hatake-san, am I glad to see you!" She exclaimed. It seemed she'd been made aware of his arrival. "Go straight up, my boy. I fear that you're the only one who can help this situation now."

Kakashi did as he was told, skipping up the stairs with as much speed as he could muster. The door to the Hokage's office had been slammed open - that much was clear from the way it hung loosely on its hinges - and a contingent of ANBU guards was crowded around the entrance. None of them ventured into the room.

Pieces of paper were strewn all around the Hokage's office. Bottles of ink had been swept from the desk, splattering their contents all over the wall; shards of glass joining various brushes and pens in littering the ground.

Potent killing intent saturated the air, laying a pressure upon Kakashi's shoulders that was almost as strong as the despair he felt whenever Gai challenged him. He stared at his sensei, who was clearly too busy glaring at the Hokage to notice him, and idly wondered if he realised how childish he looked right now.

The Sandaime was apparently thinking the same thing, as he folded his arms and stared cooly back at him.

"Minato, you know I can't allow that," he was replying. "You're far too valuable an asset to-"

"Finish that sentence, Hiruzen, and I'll show you what it _feels_ like to lose a valuable asset."

From behind him, several ANBU guards were attempting to stifle their laughter. Perhaps on a better day, the boy would have joined them, but the incident with Aki had left a sour taste in his mouth. Kakashi couldn't bring himself to find amusement in his sensei's anger.

Instead, he strolled into the room, shrugging off the hands that half-heartedly attempted to hold him back.

"You sure are acting like a child, sensei."

He had to admit, it was a little amusing how Minato turned to snarl at him, only to catch sight of his face and quickly attempt to backtrack.

"You're intruding on a private meeting, Kakashi." It seemed like the blond was clutching at straws, grasping at a response in an attempt to look more like the adult here. It didn't work.

"Hardly private when your 'discussion' can be heard from the waiting room," He replied. "Now, are you done throwing a tantrum, sensei?"

Minato spluttered, momentarily losing his cool. But the killing intent that washed over Kakashi felt like little more than the sun on a warm day. When it seemed like he wasn't going to respond, the jounin grabbed ahold of his wrist and began to drag him towards the door.

The ANBU members parted ways in stunned silence, only regarding him with what seemed to be a new sense of respect. They had almost turned the corner when his sensei finally registered what was happening, stopping in his tracks for long enough to glare at the Hokage.

"Give me a mission, Sarutobi. I don't care what mission, just give me something to kill," He growled. "I'll go rogue and find a mission for myself if I have to, so don't tempt me."

Kakashi thanked his lucky stars that the man stayed quiet. He wasn't sure what he'd have done if Minato had gotten angry again - it was only the shock of his appearance that resolved the situation this time around.

He was about to pull his sensei down the stairs and towards the exit when he remembered the crowd of people awaiting them.

"Flash to your house," He commanded, leaving no room for arguments. "Our path is otherwise blocked."

Luckily for him, Minato didn't seem to want to argue. With a trademark flash of yellow light, the two of them vanished from sight.

_**/\/\/\/**_

[One week later]

_Kakashi. Meet me where we parted ways last week. -M_

Kakashi strolled down the path to his sensei's house, eye fixed on the piece of paper he held before him. It wasn't the first time that Minato had sent him an ominous-sounding message like this, but he was a little concerned all the same.

When Kakashi had been put onto his team, he'd given his sensei permission to place a hiraishin seal onto his hitai-ate. For the most part that seal remained unused, but on some rare occasions Minato decided to scrawl a hiraishin seal onto a piece of paper along with a message, sending it over to him in a sort of lazy note-passing game.

Of course, he would always send those messages at perhaps the worst times, when he really did not want a flash of bright yellow light to give away his position. Such as today, when he'd specifically taken a route home that would not involve the green spandex-clad maniac that liked to challenge him to things.

He had been travelling strategically, not hiding. Not hiding.

As Kakashi raised a hand to knock at the door, somebody appeared in his peripheral vision. He knew almost immediately that it was Aki, so he waited until the boy reached his side before knocking.

The two of them stood in silence, pointedly avoiding one another's gaze. The jounin almost sighed in relief when Minato finally opened the door, grinning widely at them.

"Kakashi, Aki, I'm glad you could make it!" He beamed, "Do you know why I've brought you here today?"

Aki was the first to speak up, casting a glance towards Kakashi as he did.

"Because we got into a fight, I guess?"

"Indeed!" The jounin placed a hand on each boy's shoulder, still smiling. "Which is why-"

Suddenly their surroundings flashed yellow, and Kakashi found himself standing in a training ground.

"-you're going to settle your differences with a spar!"

Despite the frosty air between them, they both seemed to speak in unison.

"A... spar?"

As much as he hated to admit it, a spar did seem to be the best course of action. Kakashi himself had had a lot of pent-up frustration since Rin... well, since then, and with Minato clearly feeling similar, he was pretty sure that Aki would be just as pent-up.

"Let's do it," He eventually responded, taking up a loose combat stance.

Aki nodded, turning to face him.

"No holds barred?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.

"No holds barred."

Aki was the first to attack, lunging forward with a left jab that Kakashi easily sidestepped. He then quickly closed the gap, and sent his fist flying forward. It connected with Aki's nose with a satisfying crunch, and he stumbled backwards, holding his face.

He... hadn't intended to punch quite as hard as that, but the adrenaline coursing through his veins left him little room for regret. Aki fell back into his fighting stance with a growl, but there was definitely a smile hidden behind that mask of his.

He took out a couple of shuriken, bracing them in front of him as his opponent took a step backwards. So, he was going on the defensive, eh?

That was fine. Kakashi had no qualms about going on the offensive. One moment he was standing calmly a few meters away, the next his shuriken were flying through the air towards Aki's shoulder.

To his credit, the boy was successful in dodging the first few shuriken. But as he ducked and weaved, using a kunai to deflect those he couldn't avoid, a single shuriken managed to break through his defense. It buried itself into his arm, not too deep but still enough to draw a little blood.

It was clear that Aki was still holding back on him, and Kakashi worked to bite back a frustrated shout.

"Take this seriously, already!" He yelled against his better judgement, "I'm not stupid, I know you're holding back on me!"

Aki didn't attempt to retort, he was too busy dodging another volley of shuriken thrown by his adversary. But Kakashi was growing tired of the dodging games, and he charged forward to deliver a swift hook to his opponent's stomach.

Aki bent over, but managed to block the next few punches that were aimed at his face. Kakashi lifted a knee to catch his chin, but he threw himself into a crisp back handspring, driving two feet directly into the jounin's neck. He stumbled backwards, and as he did he managed to catch his foot on the ground, tripping himself up.

The blow to his throat left him gasping for air, fingers digging into the dirt as he struggled to get his breathing back under control. He was wide open; Aki could have held a kunai to his face and ended the fight, but for some reason he chose not to. Instead, the boy held out a hand, offering it to Kakashi.

For a moment, he considered slapping it away. But Minato had brought them here to settle their differences, so instead he took it, and accepted the help back to his feet. Aki had let his guard down though, and the jounin made full use of the opening he was given to sweep his legs from underneath him, twisting the arm he'd been offered until it was trapped behind his back.

Aki fell forward with a yelp; Kakashi kneed him in the face, and then twisted his arm even tighter until he thought it would rip from its socket.

He glanced at Minato, who nodded and declared Kakashi the winner of the fight. This time it was him who offered a hand to Aki, though he kept his guard up for his teammate to turn the tables.

Just as expected, the boy used the offered hand to pull Kakashi off-balance, lunging up to meet him. He raised a hand to counterattack, but he could do little as Aki… tackled him to the ground in a bear hug!

Despite the utter shock, Kakashi found himself leaning into the hug. Breathing in Aki's scent, his warmth. He blinked, suddenly aware of a wetness in his eyes. They must have started to water when he hit the ground, right? Right.

"I'm sorry for hurting you before!" the boy mumbled into his shoulder. "I just… I lost my temper, and I acted without thinking and-"

"It's alright, Aki. I was too harsh on you, too. Rin wasn't- It wasn't your fault," The words began to tumble out of his mouth, "You did everything you could, it wasn't fair of me to blame you. I was just looking for someone to pass responsibility on to, and-"

His throat seemed to clog up. Almost as soon as his words began to flow, they came to an abrupt stop, sticking somewhere around his jugular and making it rather hard to breathe without hiccupping. It wasn't a sob. Kakashi wasn't crying. Definitely not.

"You have no idea how lonely I've been this week…"

Okay, maybe he was crying. Aki's voice was the only thing that registered within his mind right now, so sad and broken and warm and soft and-

"You're the only friend I've got left, Kashi. When I thought I'd lost you too, I didn't know what to do."

_Kashi. _The word brought him straight back to that day, when Kamen had turned his whole world upside down. Back then, he'd detested that name. It had just been a cutesy phrase that Kushina used specifically because it annoyed him.

But when Aki said it? It was different. It felt nice, in the strangest of ways.

Suddenly Kakashi didn't feel quite so alone.

_**/\/\/\/**_

Kakashi was beginning to wonder where his sensei was.

It had been three weeks, two days and seven hours since they'd parted ways after that fight, and while he'd spent plenty of time with Aki, Minato was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't all too frequent an occurrence for him to disappear - after all, his sensei was one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha at the moment, so he'd definitely expected these things to happen. But after his breakdown a month previous, the jounin couldn't help but feel a little worried.

_'No, I shouldn't be worried. This is Minato we're talking about… he'll be fine, right?'_

It wouldn't hurt to see if he's home, though. Just a quick hop in and out. It was getting dark enough that he'd be home if he wasn't on a mission, and his place was right on the route to the mission assignment desk after all. Check in, see if he's there, and if not he could go look for a nighttime mission.

Yeah, that's what he'll do.

As he walked, Kakashi thought. He thought about Kamen. About how every day that passed since that first encounter left him less and less sure if Aki truly was Kamen. Surely someone so innocent and naive as Aki could never have lived a whole second life. Surely, if he was forced to live through the deaths of so many people close to him, he would have turned out more like-

_'More like me'_

No. Kakashi closed that line of thinking before it could even take form, pushing the subject back onto its dusty shelf. Some would call it compartmentalisation, the way he tended to sort his thoughts into shelves. He just called it mental housekeeping.

It's a lot easier to be a shinobi when you can just lock away those feelings into little jars of hurt.

Minato's house appeared in his sight. Even as the sky gradually darkened, no light emanated from those windows. Either his sensei was away on a mission, or he forgot to pay his electric bill again. Well, only one way to find out.

There was a specific window, leading into the upstairs bathroom, that was perfectly sized for Kakashi to fit through. He'd used this method of entry several times, almost always managing to set off the security seals Minato had placed around every possible entry point. Eventually the seals had been updated so that they would let Kakashi through without a problem. Minato usually sensed Kakashi before he even came near to the house anyway.

It meant a lot that he'd been given that trust, even if he'd never admit it.

Kakashi slipped through that window with ease, only pausing for long enough to close it behind him and listen out for any signs of life. Hearing nothing, he carefully exited the bathroom and began to search the house.

Sometimes, he wished his sensei wasn't quite so stringent with his security measures. Being as strong as he was, of course Kakashi understood why he did it. But the seals that messed with chakra sensors' perception? They were frustrating to no end. It would have been so much simpler if he could have just walked up to the house, sensed that there was no one in there and been on his way. But no.

He had to search the whole house, knowing that Minato would usually just stay where he was when Kakashi came to visit. Something to do with punishing him for always entering without permission. But alas, this time around there was no one home. In fact there was a thin layer of dust coating the place, so it was safe to say that his sensei had not been home in a long while.

_'Oh well, I tried. I guess I'll see if the Hokage is willing to let me know how long he'll be gone.'_

The jounin was about to head up to the bathroom when a flash of yellow light burst through the room. It was blindingly bright, brighter than normal, though that might have just been because he was standing in a dark house with little to no lighting in the first place.

"Oh, hey sensei," he began, suddenly very aware that Minato would still be hyped up from a mission, and liable to attack anyone who seemed like a threat. "I was just checking to see if you were-"

A bloodstained kunai clattered to the ground, its ring feeling far too loud in the stifling silence of the house. Kakashi froze, nostrils flaring at the metallic tang that suddenly assaulted his senses, at the sheer, cold nothingness that emanated from the man he knew as his teacher.

"It's… over."

Minato's voice, monotone and empty… it took Kakashi a moment to realise it even belonged to his sensei. His sensei, who was covered in blood.

"Are you hurt?"

The burning question burst forth unbidden, embodied the alarm bells that were ringing within the jounin's mind.

"Not- not my blood."

He could almost cry, relieved as he was to hear those words. For a moment… for a few seconds, he thought he was about to lose someone else.

Kakashi placed a gentle hand onto Minato's wrist, leading him to the bathroom. He left no room for embarassment as he stripped his sensei of the bloodstained clothing and eased him into the bathtub. No words were exchanged as he slowly sponged away the crimson stains.

He worked diligently, busying himself with working through Minato's red-soaked hair to avoid looking into those empty eyes. He could see it, though. It didn't take a Yamanaka to know that the man was broken.

Water soaked into the boy's shirt as Minato pressed his head against it. But Kakashi didn't care. The only thing that mattered right now was taking care of him.

"It's over…" The blond mumbled again, "I've killed them. All of them."

**I'm honestly contemplating moving over to AO3 altogether. For a long time I've had issues with ffnet, from formatting troubles to just having parts of my story deleted for no reason. There's no specific tags, you're so limited with everything... it's just really bad. I'm only still uploading to ffnet right now because I started here, and it wouldn't be fair of me to stop updating stories. So, from now on, any new stories I publish are going to be uploaded _only_ on AO3. I will continue to update the stories that have already been posted, but anything else is a no go. I'm on AO3 by the same name, and I have 2 stories planned for release at some point, so if you want to see those you'll have to go look me up. I'm sorry, those of you who use ffnet. It's just reached a point now where it's not worth the effort to upload things here.**


End file.
